Your marital status for tax purposes is the last day of the year. Thus, if you’re planning a winter wedding, check with your tax pro.
Generally, spouses with relatively equal incomes face the “marriage penalty” so it may pay to wait until 2003. However, if one spouse has a much larger income it might make sense to get married in December and qualify to file a joint return for 2002.
You can claim a dependency deduction for minor children and full-time students under 24. For other children and parents, you must pay more than 50 percent of that person’s support during the year. If it’s close, you might step up year-end outlays while persuading your dependent to defer personal spending until January.
Dependents may not have taxable incomes over $3,000 in 2002. (Again, children up to age 18 and full-time college students up to age 24 are excluded from this requirement.) If a dependent is closing in on the $3,000 mark, persuade him or her to take an unpaid vacation until January.
